Selena Gomez continues to wear a plethora of awesome outfits in London as she promotes her Revival album. The album, which features her nude (yet still classy) on the cover, will symbolize her adulthood. She’s not going full Miley because her people realize how ridiculous it is to be outrageous for the sake of it. And right now, there can only be one Miley (although Madonna will try to keep up, which is hilarious). Selena has a new interview with the New York Times about her anxiety with fame and her unhappiness at the direction her career was taking. She touches upon Justin Bieber and her friendship with Taylor Swift:
She’s hyper-aware of how she’s perceived: “It’s all part of my story. I’m growing and changing. I was in a relationship, and I was being managed by my parents, and I was still under Hollywood and Disney, and I was being held to this expectation of being the good girl. I knew deep down that this wasn’t what I wanted to do – being exhausted of forcing something that wasn’t right, even in my personal life. I had to have moments where I was crying and I was like, ‘Why am I not in love with what I do?’ I was forced to get very uncomfortable for a while in order to make the decisions I made.”
On the paparazzi: “I need my work to just outshine all of this because the noise is driving me crazy, and it’s preventing me from leaving my home. When I walk into a place and people look at me, they don’t see an artist.”
Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean?” is about her: “While people were writing that I was stupid for being in it, this is what I always saw in him. I’m like, duh!”
On Taylor Swift: “Taylor is a lot more trusting than I am. I have trust issues, given my situation. She’s very open, so she brings out this other side of me.”
Swift on Gomez: “In the last two years, I’ve seen Selena start to make her career her own. She’s separated her opinion out and prioritized it above anyone else’s. Her childhood was defined by working hard, with the major business decisions primarily being made by others. The coolest part of watching her grow up has been seeing her gradually take the creative reins and start to steer the ship.”
[From New York Times]
Selena never actually mentions Swaggy by name, but her positive response makes me jump a little. Then again, what was she supposed to say? She didn’t shut down the journo, she simply kept the ball moving in the interview. I hope Selena finds peace with her fame. She doesn’t have the strongest singing voice (or acting range) but does have the charisma and drive to keep going. I think she’ll be fine. Just stay away from Bieber!
What Taylor says here about Selena is pretty cool too. Taylor is a shrewd businesswoman who keeps a tight rein on her image. She might be too squad-oriented and a little mean-girlish towards some people, but you can tell she respects Selena.
Photos courtesy of WENN
Yeah cuz she’s terrible
She’s a cute girl, an average actress, an average singer. Demi Lovato has the better pipes, by far. I don’t really know where her niche is.
Mandy Moore is probably more talented, but I tend to think of Selena Gomez as this generation’s Mandy — in that I don’t know where you place someone like her, but she never really offends me and she seems generally very pleasant.
Mandy Moore was actually a pretty fantastic comic actress. It’s a shame she got too tightly tied to her image as a singer, because she had the chops to really make a name for herself as an actress.
I like Selena, she seems to be a wonderful young woman and I can see myself in her outside the fame. Yet I do have to agree with her, I don’t really see her as an artist, but the main reason is I think because she is sort of jumping between careers. One second she is an actress, then singer, then a girlfriend, then actress again and then singer. If she stayed on ONE thing, people would definetly see her work as a work of an artist and appreciate it a lot more.
It’s hard to know if she’d become better by focusing on one thing. She’s a former child star chosen for her looks rather than her talent. More experience might not make much of an improvement.
She’s right, I don’t.
You have to produce art to be an artist.
That red outfit is everything though!
Yes! I’m seriously in love with this retro-chic vibe she’s been going for lately. She looks better than ever.
Well to be honest, she didn’t become a household name until she became Justin Bieber’s girlfriend. She seems like a nice girl, however her acting is not great. Her singing is ok…she’s had some hits…so perhaps she should just focus on that. I wish her well but it amazes me how now a days you can become so rich and famous off of little talent. It’s all about who you date and what you look like.
We won’t and we never will!
Nope, because you are NOT an artist.
This is less annoying than I thought it would be. She’s talking about her position as a pop star with regard to fame, not complaining she’s not taking seriously enough.
That being said, I don’t see her as an artist, either. Then again, I wouldn’t have classified Justin Timberlake or Beyonce as such at certain points, either. If Selena does quality work for a sustained period of time, I think she could be taken more seriously.
I agree. If she wants to be taken seriously, she has to work at it, but that’s a good thing. Better to have a focus and a goal and a desire to produce good work, than to sit back and expect everything to continue to be handed to her.
I think she went through a difficult phase, as many people do at that age, and unfortunately it was very public. But I hope she’s doing well and achieves what she wants to.
Hahahahhhha Yeah No Bubby, You are correct, your ouvreur being Disney and autotuned pop is not like Mad Artisté and whatnot LOL
I love her style. And her look. I suffer from babyface syndrome so it’s refreshing to see someone who has it but still can be taken seriously. But I don’t take her seriously as a singer (she isn’t an artist because she doesn’t write or produce her own music and her voice is mediocre). She should focus her talents on fashion.
First step is admitting it.
What charisma? Seriously? Let’s call a spade a spade, she’s as famous as she is because she’s pretty and dated Justin.
Exactly. Without Bieber, she would be a former child actress known to a smaller demographic, like Victoria Justice or Miranda Cosgrove. She should thank Bieber and the tabloid media for making her recognizable.
I love running to her music and the fact she’s keeping her clothes on is enough differentiation from the rest of the pop tarts for me to believe in her.
Unfortunately this is how people work. But at least they look.
First, you make them look (you are half way there), then you have their attention and you have to demonstrate that you are an artist. If they don’t even look then they won’t ever know.
This is why many artists dress flashy – to draw attention.
I like Selena, but she is fairly average. Maybe that is the problem.
You got that right, Selena.
well.. she’s a terrible singer. i dont think shes that bad at acting but she doesnt take many risks so who knows if shes capable of more
‘When people look at me, they don’t see an artist’. LAWD.
Whenever I think of Selena, I think of a gal who kept embarrassing herself by running back to Justin when we all knew he was a punk and she could do better.
Well, as long as she’s not being delusional
Jelena forever !!! They were so cute together
When people look at her they don’t see an artist – well, that’s because she made a joke of herself being with Beebs during his years-long antics and overall stupidity. She got a boob job, spent way too much time trying to be hot and where the party was, so she did it to herself because she wanted the wrong kind of attention. You can’t be taken seriously when you’re putting yourself out there as a ding bat. I don’t think it really matters. She was one of the many young pretty women who only last in popularity for a few years and then they get replaced by new younger prettier women. Her only hope would have been to get serious and make a name for herself in acting. Her music is generic and there are too many singing the same exact stuff but better, so her options are limited.